By the time you have finished this hugely enjoyable collection of essays, you will probably have disagreed with Christopher Hitchens more than once. His opinions are often controversial, sometimes difficult and these essays, loosely collected around the themes of the title, rarely take the line of least intellectual resistance. But whether you agree with him or not, it is hard not to take pleasure from the sweep and shape of his arguments and from the vigour, conviction, wit and humanity with which he writes. Whether it's pointing out the paucity of argument behind Fahrenheit 9/11 - many have criticised the film but few with such damning accuracy - or the illegitimacy of the view that American foreign policy motivates Muslims to join al-Qaeda, Hitchens is compelling.

Miss Angel: The Art and World of Angelica Kauffman by Angelica Goodden (Pimlico, £12.99)

Swiss Angelica Kauffman was a child prodigy. At 13, her paintings already looked like the work of a professional artist and, in her freakish brilliance, she became the toast of Europe, her studios an essential attraction for those on the Grand Tour. In 1766, aged 25, she came to England and London society fell in love with her and her modest, unworldly ways, going, as one engraver wrote, 'Angelicamad'. Clearly, she was an intriguing woman but, unfortunately, she destroyed most of her letters; what we know of her comes from the writings of others and, with this dearth of primary material, Goodden can only approach her from a remove. In the hands of a better writer, this method might work, but here it is impossible to engage with the woman who was Angelica Kauffman.

Malory: the Life and Times of King Arthur's Chronicler by Christina Hardyment (Harper Perennial, £9.99)

Nobody knows much about Thomas Malory. He was a landowner, fought in France, was accused of rape, jailed and, sometime during this incarceration, worked on the romance that made his name, Le Morte D'Arthur. But beyond this we know little else. Nevertheless, relying heavily on supposition, Hardyment has constructed a fascinating and plausible life. Her technique may not be scholarly, but her dissection of the political background to the Wars of the Roses is invaluable. It has always puzzled scholars that a man so interested in chivalry could have ever raped a woman, but Hardyment makes a strong case that the accusation was politically motivated, and this biography goes some way to re-establishing the reputation of a truly important English author.